Our prayer thought is taken from Timely Greetings, Volume 2, Number 2, page 13, paragraph 2:

1. The knockout blow of 1959 propaganda;
2. The beloved name “Davidia” and the hated name “Eleventh-hour church”;
3. Association formed as a result of WW II propaganda;
4. Accepting the additions to the Shepherd’s Rod Message and teaching for doctrines the errors therein;
5. Tormenting Mother with the distribution on literature in front of the churches on Sabbath, at camp meetings and other SDA events.

Let us hear what is promulgated by Davidian ministry and laity alike. We shall read The Davidian Propaganda:

“The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists was formed because the SDA church would not provide letters to Davidians to prove that they were members of the SDA church so as to be exempt from combat duties in World War II.  Faced with this dilemma, the prophet was forced to form an Association.”

True or False?

Let us look at the evidences and decide based on the weight of evidence if there is any truth to this propaganda. We will look at some historical events of the period leading up to World War II and during World War II both in the world and in the 11^th-hour church.

October 29th, 1929: Stock Market on Wall Street crashed:

January 6th, 1929: First Present Truth study given by Bro. Victor T. Houteff:

November 8th, 1932: Franklin Roosevelt elected President of the USA:

October 2nd, 1932: Shepherd’s Rod Volume two published:

August 19th, 1934: Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany:

1934: The General Association of Shepherd’s Rod Seventh-day Adventists organized:

The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists was organized by Brother V. T. Houteff in 1934, the same year that Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany; this was 5 years before the commencement of World War II.

For the confirmation of the dates concerning Davidian history, please see Tract Number 13, pages 44-48.

The evidence that we were organized in 1934 can be found in Volume Three, The Symbolic Code Number 2, page 3, let us look at it:

We were organized in 1934 with a written constitution five years before World War II begun.

Let us look at the Constitution and By-laws of the then “Shepherd’s Rod Seventh-day Adventists.”

It has the constitution, articles, object, membership, officers and their duties…. and it looks just like our regular constitution in The Leviticus, but this was the first organization’s constitution.

Let us continue with our historical events:

September 1st, 1939: Nazis invaded Poland:

September 3rd, 1939: Britain, France, Australia & New Zealand declared war on Germany:

That is when World War II begun — 1939, five years after we had already been organized as an Association.

October 25th, 1939: First commemoration of history review – Day of Days:

October 26th, 1939: First child born on Mt. Carmel:

Were we worried about Hitler and his war? I don’t think so. We were an Association having our historical events taking place just like the world.

September 14th, 1940: Conscription Bill passed:

Let us read a little of this conscription bill.

Conscription Bill

Signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, the Act established the first peace-time draft in United States history. Under the Selective Training and Service Act, all American males between twenty-one and thirty-six years of age registered for the draft. The government selected men through a lottery system. If drafted, a man served for twelve months.

Section 5(g) of the Act contained a provision for conscientious objection:

Nothing contained in this Act shall be constructed to require any person to be subject to combatant training and service in the land and naval forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form. Any such person claiming such exemption from combatant training and service because of such conscientious objections whose claim is sustained by the local draft board shall, if he is inducted into the land or naval forces under this Act, be assigned to noncombatant service as defined by the President, or shall if he is found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service, in lieu of such induction, be assigned to work of national importance under civilian direction.

The draft began in October 1940. By the early summer of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt asked the U.S. Congress to extend the term of duty for the draftees beyond twelve months. On August 12, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension by a single vote. The Senate approved it by a wider margin, and Roosevelt signed the bill into law on August 18, 1941.

Thus the Conscription Bill was passed in September of 1940. The draft began in October and extensions were made to it the following year — and what was happening at Mt. Carmel during this period?

On the 6th day of December, 1940: SROD SDA’s position on the conscription published:

Notice that we were ready to respond to this conscription two months later because we were already organized six years before it.

Volume 6 The Symbolic Code Numbers 7-12, page 11, column 1, paragraph 1 reads:

SPECIAL NOTICE

For All SROD Members of Military Conscription Age

THE SHEPHERD’S ROD SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS’ DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES CONCERNING CONSCRIPTION

(These principles underlie our conscientious objections to signing either Statement A or Statement B, unqualified, under “Claim for Exemption” in “Special Form for Conscientious Objectors.”) {6SC7-12: 11.1.1}

We have just read an excerpt to show that conscription did not cause us to be organized. Please read the section in its entirety for your own edification.

We will read the beginning of the letter from the Government to Mt. Carmel:

The Government’s answer to this appeal is as follows: {6SC7-12: 11.2. 8}

STATE HEADQUARTERS FOR SELECTIVE SERVICE

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Headquarters of The Shepherd’s Rod Seventh Day Adventists
Waco, Texas

December 10, 1940

RE: Conscientious Objectors 

Gentlemen:

Your communications dated December 6th, 1940, have been received by State Headquarters of Selective Service and referred to this department for reply. {6SC7-12: 12}

This letter is signed by Q. C. Taylor, Major; and he was from the Legal Division.

This is just to show that we were not worried about conscription; we were already organized and were ready to answer and write to the army. Read that in its entirety for your edification.

November 1941: Flag of Christ’s Kingdom designed:

December 7, 1941: Japan bombed Pearl Harbor:

December 8^th, 1941: USA declared war on Japan:

1943: SROD SDA’s received a new name from God – Davidian SDA:

Let us read about it in Volume 8 The Symbolic Code Numbers 1-12, page 24, column 1, paragraph 1:

AFTER TWELVE YEARS

To keep alive the hope that the brethren as a whole would sooner or later embrace the sealing message, the Divine Author of this “closing work for the church” (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 266) has hitherto given His messengers no title.  Hence the name of their publication, The Shepherd’s Rod, has naturally been attached to them. {8SC1-12: 24.1.1}

Having now, though, at the closing of its twelfth year, progressed to the publication of the “Leviticus,” the Association receives from this governmental organ, the name, Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.  No longer, therefore, does it borrow its name from its publications.  The inception of this governmental set-up, along with the name, suggests that the long-predicted Davidian Kingdom is about to be ushered in. {8SC1-12: 24.1.2}

Amen! Brethren, we got our New Name in 1943.

May 8th, 1945: V-E Day (Victory in Europe):

The allies got victory over Hitler.

September 2nd, 1945: Japan’s formal surrender to the allies:

On February 5th, 1955: Bro. Victor T. Houteff, the Lord’s servant, passed away:

Based on the evidences presented, there is not one thread of truth in the Davidian propaganda:

“The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists was formed because the SDA church would not provide letters to Davidians to prove that they were members of the SDA church so as to be exempt from combat duties in World War II.  Faced with this dilemma, the prophet was forced to form an Association.”

Therefore, a student of the message must conclude that the answer to it is — FALSE:

Stop this abomination of crediting Hitler and his enemies with forcing God to organize the 11^th-hour church. The 11^th-hour Church was planned before Hitler was even in existence because our Lord and our Savior gave us the parable of Matthew chapter 20.Why are we allowing the enemy to desecrate what our God has done for us? Are we not Christians? Are we not followers of Christ? Why are we doing this to our Lord?

The next abomination we will cry out against is: “Accepting the additions to the Shepherd’s Rod Message and teaching for doctrines the errors therein.”